Solomon: Thrown into fire, Texans CB Jackson emerging a better player

Taking shots at Kareem Jackson was darn near a sport around here the last couple of years. Almost to the point that I’m surprised Hasbro didn’t try to sell it as a board game.

Some of the criticism was fair — the Texans’ cornerback certainly struggled at times, especially as a rookie — but some of it was simply media being media and fans being fans.

The idea that Jackson, 24, was a waste of a first-round pick (No. 20 overall in 2010) was floated way too soon. The toxic atmosphere became such that any defense of Jackson was dismissed.

People scoffed at teammates when they suggested he was coming along. Some mocked head coach Gary Kubiak any time he said Jackson was doing some good things.

A certain local newspaper columnist — no need to name names, but the name suggests he might be a wise one — was called a homer in hundreds of emails when he wrote during Jackson’s rookie season that some of the league’s all-time great cornerbacks had a difficult time adjusting to the NFL, so give him time.

Hall of Famer Darrell Green said then, “Let’s not give the kid a failing grade just yet. One day you critics might look up, and all of this will be a ‘remember when’ situation.”

As Jackson high-stepped down the sideline Sunday headed for his first NFL touchdown, wrapping up a 63-yard sprint to the end zone with a gorgeous interception on the type of play some believed he would never make, someone along the Texans’ side of the field ran with him.

Unabashed

Andre Johnson, veteran receiver, longest-tenured Texan and the franchise’s most celebrated player, sprinted with Jackson, almost willing the youngster to the goal line.

“I was really hoping he’d run it back, because I know what he’s been through and the bashing and stuff that he’s taken, so I’m sure that was a big relief,” Johnson said of the play that was the final dagger in the Texans’ impressive 38-14 win over the Tennessee Titans. “It’s confidence. That was the biggest thing. He came in as a rookie, he was thrown into the fire, people bashing him, and when you’re 20, 21 years old, that’s tough to handle.”

Johnson used the word bashing several times to describe Jackson’s treatment. A team star pretty much since the day he arrived in 2003, Johnson never dealt with the type of wrath Jackson has endured.

“I saw it, but all that did was pour fuel on the fire,” said Jackson, who didn’t play cornerback until he got to the University of Alabama. “I knew I had to get better. Nobody had to tell me that. So I couldn’t care less what anybody else had to say.

“I’m just going to keep working and keep progressing as a player and as a man. I don’t feel any outside pressure. Fans are going to be fans; critics are going to be critics. As long as I can come in this locker room and say I am accountable to these guys in here, all that outside stuff doesn’t matter.”

Jackson has always put up a good front. The Georgia native was irked by the criticism.

Perhaps it didn’t affect his play, but no doubt he has come a long way since he was a rookie.

Jackson sounded confident early in his career because he believed he could be a good NFL cornerback. Now that belief is backed up by solid play.

“I think he has matured a lot … probably more than any player on this team, to be honest,” fellow cornerback Johnathan Joseph said. “It’s about being accountable. I think he has done that the last year and a half and it’s paying off for him now, and it’s good to see him having the success he’s having now.”

Kubiak says Joseph deserves some credit for Jackson’s improvement. The two have become “like brothers,” forming a friendship that is among the closest on the team.

Joseph, who joined the Texans as a free agent before the 2011 season, took to Jackson right away, and his tutelage, his friendship, has had a pronounced influence on Jackson.

“I always talk to him whether he is up or down, things outside of football and about football, things that can help him,” Joseph said. “I always want to see the next guy do well. We both play cornerback, and it wouldn’t make sense for us not to be close friends and have a bond.

“I feel for him the same way I feel for myself.”

Ready for next level?

An NFL cornerback can’t be a good cornerback until he goes from hoping he can make a play if a ball comes his way to hoping the ball comes his way so he can make a play.
Perhaps Jackson has moved into the latter category.

He has played well all season, but many hadn’t noticed before Sunday’s interception and touchdown return.

“It’s the first one, but hopefully it won’t be the last one,” Jackson said.

Not to jump the gun, but more of that, and soon we’ll be asking, “Remember when?”

jerome.solomon@chron.com
twitter.com/jeromesolomon

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See the best photos from the Texans 38-14 win against the Tennessee Titans.